A customer I collaborate with from time to time is responsible for continuous improvement in several factories here in the US. For the ease of telling the story, we’ll call this customer Joe. Joe’s organization is beginning to practice TWI, starting with Job Instruction. He’s taught the JI method to

This week we have another episode from AME San Diego. Our guest is Katie Anderson, who told us all about the AME Consortia program, her Japan Lean Study trips, and more. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In this episode you’ll learn: One of Katie’s

Humans accomplish things in teams. From the most basic unit of the family to local community to sports clubs to for-profit and non-profit organizations, people working toward a common goal is how we get big things done. Things one person can’t accomplish alone, with two, we can. It would seem

This week we’re continuing our live AME San Diego series with Renée Smith of Results Washington. Ron and Renée both shared some powerful anecdotes and insights into the humanity of lean and its potential to really change lives. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In

One of the goals of lean problem solving is to prevent recurrence of problems by finding and addressing its root causes. We identify the factors that are critical good outcomes. We learn when and how they vary outside of desired parameters. We follow the causal chain to its most basic

Meanings are not determined by situations, but we determine ourselves by the meanings we give to situations. – Alfred Adler I’m not really sure how it started, but one day a couple months ago I found myself diving down an internet rabbit hole in search of more information on a

This week we’re sharing the first of several episodes we recorded live at AME San Diego. For this episode, our guest is Brian Wellinghoff. Ron and Brian discussed Barry-Wehmiller’s lean journey, the lessons Brian has learned, and more. An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In

How effective we are at solving problems and keeping them solved depends on our ability to address them at their source. When we put out fires but fail to put in measures to prevent similar fires in the future, we fight the same fires again and again. Instead of increasing

This past week was incredible. We were at the AME conference in San Diego and, man, was it fun! We were able to connect with so many people from all over the world. Our annual cocktail party was a success with around 350 people attending this year. Thank you to

This week’s episode includes a little bit of everything. Ron provided an update on a few exciting things we have in the works, discussed a book he’s loving, and then explored the powerful concept of “5 Why.” An MP3 version of this episode is available for download here. In this